Coil container



m m H E 4 1 RA N 1.. NH E 7 m c o 8 ms 7 2 S W? T 2 m C E m m E z m E c! Y B a F. R. SCHAEFER COIL CONTAINER Feb. 17, 1953 Flled Aug 17 1945 Feb. 17, 1953 F. R. SCHAEFER 2,628,714

COIL CONTAINER Filed Aug. 17, 1945 2 SHEETSSHEET 2 Fig.3

INVENTOR. FEEDEE/C/f IRSC/IAEFE/K ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 17, 1953 COIL CONTAINER Frederick R. Schaefer, Youngstown, Ohio, as signor to Republic Steel Corporation, Cleveland, (min, a corporati n of New Jer y Application August 17, 1945, Serial No. 610,906

.3 -.G1aims. 1

The present invention relates generally to the container art and, more particularly, to a sheet metal container and a new method of making new containers.

There are certain uses for containers which heretofore could not be satisfied by conventional containers or containers made by conventional methods. One such use is the packaging of elongated articles such as wire, cable and the like. These articles have been packed for shipment heretofore by being coiled or tied and sometimes wrapped in fabric. At other times they have been wound on reels and handled with or without a covering, commonly known as lagging, spanning the space between the reel and thereby protecting the article. There are numerous disadvantages to both of these handling methods. The coils which were shipped with or without fabric covering'were liable-to injury during handling and were hazards to people who handled them. The reels which were used were items of considerable expense whether or not made substantial enough for repeated'use andrequired stands on which they could be rotated during removal of the articles therefrom.

It has also been proposed to package such elongated articles in a container having an opening in either or both of its ends so that the article could be withdrawn from the container-thru such an opening without rotating the container. While suchcontainers would not possess the disadvantages of :prior packaging methods, ,and'would possess new advantages, no conventional or commercially used container was suitable for this use, so far as we know, and no method of making such container was known.

The present invention provides new containers which are suitable for various uses, including the packaging of coiled, elongated articles which are to'be withdrawn thru the end of the container, and provides .a new method of manufacturing containers, particularly these new ones.

.The ,present invention will be better understood by those skilled in the art from the following description and the accompanying drawings in which Figure'l is a'fragmentary end viewof a container embodying the present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary, central, sectional view, partly in elevation, taken on line 2-4. of Fig. 1; and,

Figures 3, 4, and 6 are fragmentary, central, sectional views'showing progressive steps in the manufacture of the container of Figs. '1 and 2.

The container showninFigs. '-1 and 2 comprises 2 a cylindrical shell or body "I and end members or ends "2 and 3 in the form of rings which are double-seam connected to body I, have open centers and are providedwith disk-shaped covers 4 to fit into and close the central openings in the rings 2 and 3. If desired, covers :4 may be fitted with tabs 5 on their outer surfaces to serve as pries or grips by which the covers "-l may be removed and also, if desired, the covers it may be provided with tabs 6 on their inner surfaces to act as securing means for the ends of coiled articles within the container. Covers 4 may be providedwith flanges I on their outer peripheries to engage iE-rictionall-y withparallel flanges -8 about the central openings in rings 2 and 3. Frictional engagement of flanges 'l and -8 serves to secure the covers '4 in rings 3.

if and when desired, the body I may be provided with lifting and carrying handles. As shown, these handles consist of rings 9 which are attachedto body I byclips *Hland rivets H. The body 1 may be depressed so that-the rings 9 may lie flush with or within the outer surface of the body whennot in-use.

'Body 1| and container ends '2 and 3 are shown in Fig. 13 in assembled position preliminary to being connected together. 'The end 2 has a flat bod} portion .15 and a circumferential, axially-extendingrflange It. At the junction of body-portion I5 and flange ilfiithe end=2 may be deformed to provide an annular recess H 'for a purpose presently to appear. "However, the formation of such recess is ,not essential.

:End 3 a a at b dy portion 8, a i u ferentialflange I9 extending axially on the outer side thereof and an abutment flange 20 projecting outwardly beyond flange 19. End 2 and flan e [6 are smaller in diameter, respectively, than end '3 and its flange l9.

Container body *I is an open-ended cylinder. Near one end it has an outwardly extending flange 25 to abut aga nst abut nt flan e of end i and anannular portion 26 to seat on axial-flange l9 of ,end 3. Its opposite end portion has'avn outward y e ten in flange '21 and-an axiarp rtion 28 to seat on flan e o nd The dtions of .theibody or she l 1 adjacent to itsilanges have annular surfaces of such diameters as 'to seat on the larger and smaller diameter flanges l9 and 15 of ends 3 and-2, respectively.

In its completed form, the container of Figs. 1 andg2has an outer double-seam connection 29 between the "larger end "3 and "body and an outer double-seam connection :30 between :the smaller end =2 and body It will be noted by reference to Fig. 2 that body I projects inwardly toward the center of the container and within flange I6 of end 2, and there engages the inner surface of end 2 in such a manner as to prevent movement of end 2 toward end 3.

The inside diameter of double-seam 29 is slightly greater than the outside diameter of double-seam and thus these containers may be stacked with the larger end of one container seating on and surrounding the smaller end of a container therebelow. The large end 3 of each container may be ribbed as is indicated at 3I in Figs. 1, 2 and 3 for added stiffness when the containers are stacked. Preferably, flanges 1 and 8 are of such length measured axially of the containers that the flanges 1 of two adjacent covers on stacked containers will engage each other as shown in Fig. 2 for added support to the containers and their contents.

It will thus be seen that the present invention provides a container in which a cylindrical body is double-seam connected to both ends of the container and that the body is of such dimensions as to permit it to be telescoped over the ends preliminary to formation of the double seams, and that both ends are prevented from moving toward each other during the doubleseaming operation.

The method of the present invention is depicted in Figs. 3 to 6 inclusive. Ends 2 and 3 are first formed into shapes substantially as shown in Fig. 3. Then they may be mounted on a common axis with their body portions in parallelism and a predetermined axial distance apart and with flanges I6 and I9 extending away from each other. A mandrel 35, which is preferably collapsible, may be used as a mount for the ends 2 and 3 and rings 36 suitably attached to mandrel and provided with recesses 31 to receive the flanges 8 of ends 2 and 3 which bear against the outer surfaces of these ends and prevent them from moving farther apart. An elongated article may then be wound about mandrel 35 and between ends 2 and 3, but the outer turns of this article should not extend out flush with the outer surface of flange I6. Upon the completion of such winding body I may be slid axially over .end 2 and onto end 3 where it rests on flange I9 and abuts against abutment flange 20 of end 3, and its other end rests on axial flange [6 of end 2.

The double-seaming connection of body I and end 2 may be accomplished in the three steps shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6. A chuck is brought against the outer side of end 2 where it bears against the body portion I5 and flange I6. This member 40 has an annular recess which conforms to recess I1 of end 2. Roll H which has peripheral teeth Ma and shallow notches 4Ib therebetween is then brought into engagement with body I opposite the annular recess in chuck 40 and deforms body I during relative rotation of body I and roll 4I, thereby producing a plurality of indentations in body I which project inwardly and engage the inner axial side of end 2 in the recess I1 of body I, in the event that such a recess was previously formed therein, and similarly deforming both body I and end 2 into the annular recess of chuck 40 in the event that end 2 was not previously provided with recess I1. This deformation of body I against the inner surface of end 2 serves to prevent axial movement of end 2 toward end 3 during the subsequent steps of the double-seaming operation. The roll 4I may have a circumferentially continuous unnotched periphery when the shell I is composed of material while being provided with an annular projection. When the shell is composed of low carbon steel, however, the toothed roll is preferred for it does not increase the circumferential length of the shell while indenting it. If desired, the use of roll 4I may be dispensed with and in lieu thereof a crimping tool may be used to form circumferentially spaced indentations in body I which will engage the inner axial surface of end 2 to prevent axial movement of that end toward end 3 during the subsequent doubleseaming operations.

When body I has been deformed so as to prevent such axial movement of end 2, the portion of flange I6 which projects axially beyond flanges 21 of body I may be deformed into parallelism with flange 2I. As shown in Fig. 5, this deforming operation may be carried out by bringing a supporting r011 42 against one side of flange 21 and bringing a flange roll 43 against the inner side of flange I6 and moving it outward radially and thereby working flange I6 into parallelism with and against flange 21. If desired, roll 43 may be dispensed with and a die may be pressed against flange I8 to deform it against flange 21.

Then flanges I6 and 21 may be double-seamed in the conventional manner, as by employing grooved roll 44 which wraps the end of flange I6 around flange 21 so that it engages the opposite side of flange 21 and crimps these flanges together in folded form to constitute the double wrapped around flange 25 of body I and the two flanges crimped together in a double seam by positioning a chuck similar to chuck 40 against the outside of end 2 and employing a doubleseaming roll such as 44 in the manner just described.

It will be understood that in the operations depicted in Figs. 5 and 6 the rolls 42, 43 and 44 on the one hand, and the container on the other hand, are rotated relatively during the operations of these two flgures.

After double seams 29 and 30 have been completed, chucks 40 and backing up plates 36 may be removed and, after removal of mandrel 35, covers 4 may be fitted into the central openings of ends 2 and 3. If and when an end of a coiled article in a container is to be secured to a cover 4, the end is placed under spring clip 6 just before the cover is pressed into place in the container end.

It will be understood from the foregoing description of the method of manufacture that containers embodying the present invention may be readily and inexpensively manufactured. Then container body and ends are made of sheet material capable of resisting flanging, deforming, crimping and double-seaming operation, as is particularly the case with sheet metals such as sheet metal heretofore used in hand making, It will also be noted that the steps and combination of steps constituting the present method are new.

Having thus described the present invention so that others skilled in the art may be able to understand and practice the same, I state that what I desire to secure by Letters Patent is defined in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A package comprising a container and an elongated article in coil form therein, said container including sheet metal end members, sheet metal covers and a sheet metal shell, said end members having axial openings and circumferential axial flanges at their outer peripheries extending away from each other, said shell being cylindrical, circumferentially continuous and having flanges at its ends connected to the flanges of the end members by outer double seam connections, said shell projecting inwardly and engaging the inner side of one of said end members, said elongated article being coiled about the axis of the container between the said ends and lying within said shell and having an axial opening corresponding to the axial opening of said ends, said sheet metal covers closing said axial openings.

2. A package comprising a container and an elongated article in coil form therein, said container including sheet metal end members, sheet metal covers, and a cylindrical sheet metal shell, said end members having axial openings and circumferential axial flanges at their outer peripheries extending away from each other, said shell being circumferentially continuous and having flanges at its ends connected to the flanges of said end members by outer double seam connec- 2 tions, said shell having inwardly extending projections engageable with the inner surface of one end member, said elongated article being coiled about the axis of the container between the said ends and within said shell and having an axial opening corresponding to the axial openings of said ends, and sheet metal covers closing said axial openings.

3. A package comprising a container and an elongated article in coil form therein, said container including sheet metal end members, sheet metal covers, and a sheet metal shell, said end members having axial openings and circumferential axial flanges at their outer peripheries extending away from each other, one end member being of smaller diameter than the other end member, said shell having flanges at its ends connected to the flanges of the end members by outer double seam connections, said shell having inwardly extending circumferentially spaced projections engaging the inner side of the smaller of said end members, the outside diameter of such connection to the smaller end member being smaller than the inside diameter of the double seam connection to the other end member, said elongated article being coiled about the axis of the container between the said ends and within said shell and having an axial opening corresponding to the axial openings of said ends, said sheet metal covers closing said axial openings.

FREDERICK R. SCHAEFER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 851,097 Kruse Apr. 23, 1907 943,202 Struss Dec. 14, 1909 1,206,487 Voltz et a1 Nov. 28, 1916 1,431,352 Abbott Oct. 10, 1922 1,565,809 McCrery et a1 Dec. 15, 1925 1,650,520 Johnson Nov. 22, 1927 1,746,332 Barroll Feb. 11, 1930 1,770,163 McCrery July 8, 1930 1,914,867 Rollason June 20, 1933 1,939,719 Nicholls Dec. 19, 1933 2,289,193 Henchert -1 July 7, 1942 2,337,452 Compo Dec. 21, 1943 2,457,094 Smith Dec. 21, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 730,859 France May 23, 1932 

